Spring's delights abound

May 09, 2007

What a wonderful time of year this is. We are enjoying cool mornings that are ideal for doing outdoor work such as tilling soil or mowing a lawn. And then the afternoons are delightfully warm, making it great to go fishing or wander in the woods in search of morel mushrooms or enjoy a soccer game. Other spring treats available at this time of year are fresh asparagus, rhubarb and bluegill fish. It is amazing to see how things are so well coordinated in nature. I had been eager to gather morels and had been out scouring the woods for a couple of weeks but did not find any until just a few days ago. I should have bided my time and waited for a clear signal that morels would be out just by watching my lilac bushes. When lilacs begin to put on their spring fashion shows, it is time to find morels. My favorite two ways to eat morels are to add them uncoated to a fried steak or to dip them into a beaten egg, then into a floury mix and fry them in a little butter. Others I know like to fry the morels with scrambled eggs or sauté them with fresh asparagus spears. I like to keep the asparagus and morels separated from each other. Our favorite way to prepare asparagus is also the most simple -- you just lightly coat a frying pan with a noncalorie spray and drop in the asparagus still damp from being washed. By leaving some water on the asparagus and covering the pan, the result is that the spears are cooked by a combination of frying and steaming. We like to eat the spears when they are still a bit crisp. The bluegills are biting in the St. Joseph River outside our front door. I have found that the best way to catch the big guys at our locations is to use minnows instead of the more commonly used worms as bait. I have also learned that the bigger bluegills tend to shy away from lines that are taut from the use of a bobber or a sinker. Instead of having any tightness on the line, I simply let the bait float freely and I do not pull back on the line when I see that the line is moving faster, indicating a fish has taken the bait. Instead, I wait for as long as 10 seconds before setting the hook and then the fight is on because the fish has likely swallowed the bait by that time. Horseradish plants are sending up green shoots and this helps locate roots for digging and preparing for use in numerous ways. The smaller horseradish leaves can even be added to a salad to provide a tingling bite. The other day I dropped off several horseradish roots at the home of Tim Carrigan, The Tribune's chef columnist. Tim had said he wanted to grow his own horseradish so that he would have plenty in the future. I even offered some planting advice to Tim: "Green side up." Patricia Ann has been busy making one of her delicacies, strawberry-rhubarb pie. We get the rhubarb out of our garden and purchase the strawberries from a grocery store because it is a bit early for picking strawberries locally. The only problem I have with all these spring treats is to not overeat and put on unwanted pounds. The Dodson Farm column appears every other Wednesday in the Community section. Paul Dodson can be reached by e-mail at this address: padodson@sbcglobal.net.Paul Dodson Dodson Farm